URLs for Writer's Block

Margaret mentions a lot of different Web sites and blogs in her book. Here's a list. Each link might give you some ideas of what you could do with your own blog.

• 43 Folders
  
• J. Geoffrey Badner
  
• Blogjam
  
• Michael Buffington
  
• Burritoeater
  
• Childs Play x2
  
• Cockeyed
  
• Anil Dash
  
• Defective Yeti
  
• Die Old
  
• Dooce
  
• Electrolicious
  
• Fussy
  
• Phil! Gregory
  
• The Grocery List Collection
  
• Jenville
  
• Kottke.org
  
• Leahpeah
  
• Lifehacker
  
• Metafilter
  
• Mighty Goods
  
• The Morning News
  
• PostSecret
  
• Que Sera Sera
  
• San Francisco Stories
  
• Sparkwood & 21
  
• Suburban Bliss
  
• Superhero Journal
  
• Take Me to the Volcano
  
• Textism
  
• Jeffrey Veen
  
• A Whole Lotta Nothing
  

Exercise: Pick three blogs or sites from the above list. Read them daily for several days. Write a brief essay about what you like and dislike about the blogs, as well as how they and their writers' work. Compare and contrast.

A Cure-All for Writer's Block

Parts of this course will be similar to a media studies class. Other parts might seem like a creative writing or journalism class. In her new book, No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog, long-time blogger Margaret Mason, writes, "In the end, blogging is just writing."

But if you're new to blogging, what about? As the class progresses, students will develop and maintain their own blog. If you're not sure what to write about in the beginning, this book might offer some helpful ideas -- especially if your blog concept is more personally oriented. Some of my favorites: "Examine your paperwork," "Get nostalgic," "Give us your scraps," "Give a tour," and "Take inventory."

About the Instructor

Heath Row joined DoubleClick as research manager in September 2006 to study the impact of new technology on advertising -- and vice versa. To date, he has authored several research reports, including "Touchpoints IV: How Digital Media Fit into Consumer Purchase Decisions," and "Influencing the Influencers: How Online Advertising and Media Impact Word of Mouth."

Between August 2005 and his move to DoubleClick, Heath worked as senior director of community development for Squidoo, a content-sharing platform founded by Seth Godin.

Previously, he served as an editor and writer for Fast Company magazine for roughly eight years. At Fast Company, he founded the Company of Friends, the magazine's global readers' network, and FC Now, the Fast Company team blog.

Heath has been blogging formally since June 27, 2001.

Update: You can email Heath at kalel AT well DOT com. You can IM him at h3athrow using AIM. You can also call him on his mobie, but you need to ask for that. (5/23/07)

Enter the Blogosphere

This blog is designed to support students participating in my continuing studies course Enter the Blogosphere: The Politics, Profits, and Perils of Blogs at NYU. For easy reference, here's the catalog description of the class:

Blogs have literally changed the face of news, delivering on the promise of the democratized media that emerged in the 1990s dot-com boom. Blogs provide an excellent opportunity for young writers and journalists to express themselves independently, but the blogosphere can be an insular and sometimes mystifying universe. This course offers an insider's look at the world of blogs -- including their history, how to start your own, and how to make money from it -- and students examine critical journalistic ethics issues unique to the world of blogs. Receive extensive instruction in how to create and market your own blog, which is critiqued by the instructor and class. Students will create their own blogs (if they don't already have one) and begin writing for them. Blogs will be critiqued by the instructor and class.

• An overview of the history of blogs
  
• Guest lectures from leading bloggers
  
• Hands on instructions and tips about how start, market and make money your own blog
  
• Create your own blog
  
• Extensive instruction on blog style and format
  
• Blogging ethics and standards
  
• Blogs go mainstream. How the mainstream news media's embrace of blogs is changing the way news is disseminated.
  

Organized through NYU's Design, Digital Arts, and Film department, the course will run 10 sessions between May 16 and July 25, 2007.

If you're interested in participating, please sign up!